Writer and mother Gayle R. Lee had a simple, and poignant, reason for writing her first book: to be sure her son was remembered. Her youngest child, Eric, died in 1993. He was 13.

"I wrote it wanting not to forget my son's life, and wanting other people not to forget – wanting to remember," Lee said.

"Dancing with Life: Healing after the Death of a Child," published earlier this year by Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co., is a true story about Lee's life after Eric was killed in an accident.

Lee, who lived in Lyons for 10 years, will be at a book signing from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Lyons Township District Library. She recently moved to Lansing, but wanted to do her first book signing in Lyons, because it's where the book was born, she said. Lee is still a member of the local Word Gatherers writing group, which meets at the Lyons Library Thursday mornings.

"Dancing with Life" tells how as teens, Eric and his older brother, Shawn, asked to live with their father and stepmother 100 miles away. Lee, a single parent for most of the boys' lives, agreed. Nine months later, Eric sneaked out of his father's house in the middle of the night to meet up with friends. The car they were riding in crashed, and three of the four, including Eric, died.

"After Eric died, I saw him. I saw signs of him," she said. "Some people say (there is another explanation), but when it happens to you, you know better."

The hardest part about writing the book was disclosing her secrets. Lee included some of her journal entries in the book.

"It sets you up to be vulnerable when you are sharing things about yourself that no one knew," Lee said. "But I wanted to capture what was going on with me, and why."

The best part of writing her book was "finding a good end to the story – a happy ending," she said.

Although the story is true, Lee chose to write from the third person voice of "Julie."

"It allowed me some space between my feelings and writing," she said. "It separated me from my grief and depression about whatever spot I was writing about, and it became easier to express what I wanted to say."

Lee said the response to her story has been positive, ranging from "powerful" to "I cried halfway through it."

"It helps people to see another dimension of life, other possibilities, other than, when you are dead, you are done, and everyone forgets," she said. "Other people who have been through it can relate to my feelings and my situation."

Lee said she no longer sees Eric, but feels him nearby.

Page 2 of 2 - "I feel his excitement and personality around me," she said. "He tells me to enjoy the simple things, to enjoy what is around you.

"He is a part of me now."

"Dancing with Life" is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online, as well as on the shelves at Schulers Books in the Eastwood Towne Center in Lansing.

======

Gayle R. Lee, author of "Dancing with Life: Healing after the Death of a Child," will be at the Lyons Township District Library from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday for a book signing. Books will be available for purchase at the library.